Intranet systems are used in organizations, such as large corporations, that have a relatively large number of users who request resources via the internet from web servers on the world wide web (WWW). The resources requested generally include data contained in documents, web pages or other formats. A simple intranet system 10, shown in FIG. 1, has a proxy server 11 that receives the requests of a plurality of users C1, C2 and C3, obtains the requested resources from a web server 12 via the internet 13. These resources are then provided to the users.
The internet 13 is the network that forms connections or links L1 or L2 between intranet system 10 and web servers, such as web server 12. Links L1 and L2 are part of the internet. Links, such as L1 and L2, carry the brunt of the WWW traffic.
The stateless nature of the WWW servers can at times congest WWW traffic so much that the world wide web becomes the worldwide wait. As an example, consider the situation where users C1, C2 and C3 request the same web page from web server 12. The requested web page is sent over links L1 and L2 three times. This type of retransmission causes traffic congestion of information flow on the internet.
What is needed is a solution that reduces internet traffic congestion so as to allow a more rapid flow of information between the internet and its users.
An object of the present invention is to provide an intranet server that reduces internet traffic congestion by shadowing the information flow across an interface between the internet and an intranet system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an intranet server that locally stores high usage resources and provides such resources to intranet users.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of operating an intranet server to locally store high usage resources and provide such resources to intranet users.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a memory medium that causes an intranet server to locally store high usage resources and provide such resources to intranet users.